CNN's Blitzer Frets Israelis Carrying Guns to Defend from Palestinian Stabbing Attacks

[mountaineer]

There Have Been at Least 17 Random Stabbing Attacks in Israel Since Last Wednesday
Ben Mathis-Lilley
SLATE

At least 17 random stabbing attacks against Israelis have been reported since last Wednesday in an escalation of the sporadic violence that began weeks ago with a confrontation between Israeli security forces and Palestinian protesters at the site of the al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Last Wednesday:

    A man was stabbed in Jerusalem's Old City near the Temple Mount.
    A man who had taken a rifle from an Israeli soldier attempted to stab a woman in the town of Kiryat Gat after breaking into her apartment.
    A man was stabbed outside a shopping center in the town of Petah Tikva.
    Police officers in East Jerusalem took a man into custody after he tried to stab them.

Last Thursday:

    A man was stabbed near a light rail station in Jerusalem.
    Five people were injured in Tel Aviv by a man with a screwdriver.
    A man was stabbed near Hebron in the West Bank.
    A soldier was stabbed in the town of Afula.

Last Friday:

    A 14-year-old was stabbed with a vegetable peeler in Jerusalem.
    A police officer shot and killed a man who tried to stab him near the West Bank settlement of Kiryat Arba.
    A woman was shot by authorities after attempting to stab several people at a bus station in Afula.

Saturday:

    Two people were stabbed by a 16-year-old near the gates of the Old City.
    Two policemen were stabbed near the site of the first Old City attack.

Sunday:

    Four people were stabbed in a single attack near the city of Hadera.

And Monday:

    A policeman was stabbed in the Old City.
    A policeman was stabbed near police headquarters in Jerusalem.
    A 13-year-old and a 20-year-old were stabbed by a pair of teenage attackers in the settlement of Pisgat Zeev.

None of the stabbing victims in the past week's attacks appear to have died, though several were seriously wounded. The perpetrators in each incident were identified in news reports as Arabs, Arab-Israelis, or Palestinians; several of the attackers died after being shot by responding authorities. Overall, a total of at least 25 Palestinians and five Israelis have been killed in the last month of political violence. Slate's Joshua Keating wrote last week about the increasingly dangerous state of affairs in Israel and the territories, concluding that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas is unlikely to sanction a volume of attacks that would constitute a "third Intifada"; that said, Keating wrote, the baseline level of violence in the region "is plenty bad already."

[mountaineer]

LIVE UPDATES: Multiple Terror Attacks in Jerusalem and Central Israel Leave 3 Dead

Twenty wounded in four shooting, car ramming and stabbing attacks in Jerusalem and Ra'anana; Netanyahu convenes security cabinet; Jerusalem mayor calls to put Arab neighborhoods on lockdown.
Haaretz[/url[
 Barak Ravid, Nir Hasson, Yaniv Kubovich and Ido Efrati Oct 13, 2015 1:48 PM

Violent tensions between Israel and the Palestinians peaked Tuesday with multiple terror attacks reported in Jerusalem and the central city of Ra'anana, leaving at least three Israelis dead and over 20 wounded.

In the morning, a stabbing was reported in Ra’anana, followed by two separate attacks Jerusalem, followed by yet another attack in Ra'anana. Later a stabbing in took place in the north, with a Jewish Israeli man stabbing another Jewish Israeli, apparently misidentifying him as an Israeli Arab. ...

More, including photos, at Haaretz

[mountaineer]

Meanwhile, in Australia:

'Thousands will die': Threatening letter sent to Merrylands Police Station
    Gus Bruno
    October 13, 2015, 8:44 am



Two terror threats have been made in Sydney with both a police station and a popular shopping centre targeted only a day after a school was placed on high alert.

NSW Police have confirmed they are investigating a threatening letter which was received at Merrylands Police Station today with a separate threat to Penrith Plaza being posted on online site 4Chan.

The letter sent to Merrylands Police Station contains threats of violence against non-Muslims, according to Ray Hadley, who broke the story on Tuesday morning.

His tip-off claimed the letter warns ‘thousands will die’ in attacks on Jewish schools and NSW Police stations.

He also reported that an image of an Islamic State extremist with an array of severed heads accompanied the letter.

In a separate threat a "warning to my people in Sydney" was posted to online site 4Chan along with an image of Penrith Plaza claiming there would be an attack at 10am on Tuesday.

"My Australian friends and family, I have decided I will go out with a bang (quite literally)," the post read. ...

Rest of story at au.news

[mountaineer]

**WARNING: GRAPHIC VIDEO** How Long Does It Take An Armed Citizen To Take Out A Terrorist? About 17 Seconds.
Oct. 13, 2015


Here is link to story and video at concealed nation.org

The video above is not for the faint of heart. The decision to show it on our website was not taken lightly, but it highlights just how quickly someone could act to a situation like this if they were armed.

This is not to turn into a political discussion, however here is what supposedly happened:

According to the above video, a “Palestinian terrorist rams Israeli pedestrians in Jerusalem with his car and then uses an ax to stab the wounded.”

From jpost.com:

A Palestinian terrorist drove his vehicle into a group of several people waiting at a bus stop. He then exited his car with a meat cleaver and began attacking the wounded and others with the implement.

Rabbi Yeshayahu Krishevsky, 60, was killed, apparently both from the vehicular attack and the axe wounds while two other people were seriously injured.

From theblaze.com:

A police commander in the Ra’anana area told Israeli media that civilians chased the perpetrator and caught him. Benzi Sau, Israel’s acting police chief, acknowledged civilians for acting to quickly subdue attackers.

The armed citizen, who happened to be in the immediate area, fires on the suspect and immobilizes him almost immediately. As other people start to come over to the scene, the suspect musters up the strength to stand again, but is quickly taken down. It is not clear whether the armed citizen fired again, but we do see the terrorist fall to the ground and stop moving.

[mountaineer]

See also this thread.

It occurs to me that this type of attack would be very easily done in any American city with a "Jewish neighborhood," e.g., Squirrel Hill in Pittsburgh or University City in St. Louis. A wannabe Islamoterrorist just waits till some Jews are walking to Sabbath services or Jewish kids are leaving Hebrew school and then plows into them with his car. Hacking them with a meat cleaver is optional, I suppose. 

[rangerrebew]

CNN's Blitzer Frets Israelis Carrying Guns to Defend from Palestinian Stabbing Attacks
By Brad Wilmouth | October 14, 2015 | 11:32 PM EDT
 

As he interviewed Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld on Wednesday's The Situation Room, CNN host Wolf Blitzer repeatedly showed concerns that Israelis may be doing too much to defend themselves amid a spate of stabbings against Israeli Jews by Palestinians in Jerusalem.

All five questions posed to the police spokesman had the premise that Israelis are going too far in fending off the terrorist attacks, with Blitzer using three questions to fret specifically over Israeli civilians being encouraged to carry their own firearms for greater security.

Even after Rosenfeld had already twice answered a similar question and recalled that most Israelis have served in the military and have undergone years of firearms training, Blitzer absurdly pressed the issue a third time in his final question:

    Aren't you concerned, though, it's one thing for police and military to walk around with weapons, but it's another thing for civilians simply to be walking around with weapons. Some of them may be trained, some of them no so well-trained, Aren't you concerned that they might simply shoot before they really know for sure there's a danger?

After beginning the interview with question about whether "shutting down" some Arab neighborhoods and "bringing in more Israeli troops" is really the "answer," Blitzer in his second question moved to forwarding the Palestinian view that Palestinians "have a right to defend themselves." Blitzer:

    I understand the need for security, but the Palestinians say, their point is that these security measures that Israel is imposing, they say, makes the situation, a bad situation even worse. And they also then say, with all this Israeli presence, all of these blockades and whatever, they have a right to defend themselves. To which you say?

After the police spokesman indicated that he had briefly lost audio, Blitzer repeated the question with different wording:

    The point is, the Palestinians say what you're doing, which is perhaps understandable, but what you're doing is making a bad situation even worse by shutting off neighborhoods, putting police officers all over the place, bringing in the military, that's only further exacerbating a very, very tense situation.

Blitzer turned to worrying about Israeli civilians being armed as he posed the first of three questions on the subject:

    The Israeli Public Service Minister approved steps today that would make it easier, we're told, for civilians, for Israeli civilians to obtain gun permits. Do you think Israeli citizens should be defending the streets with more guns on their sides, armed?

Rosenfeld responded:

    Absolutely, there's no problem with that issue whatsoever. The more Israelis that are walking around with pistols, that is important that the members of the public can also respond and react. Let's not forget that just over a week ago, a Palestinian 18-year-old woman stabbed an Israeli man in the back of his neck in the Old City. He pulled out his weapon and he responded and he shot that Palestinian woman who was, in fact, taken to a hospital in serious condition. So it is effective.

Pointing out that Israelis with guns have undergone firearm training while serving in the Israeli Defense Forces, the police spokesman continued:

    Every Israeli walking around with a pistol has gone through three years of IDF training, and, therefore, there's no problem whatsoever, on the part of individuals that are walking around and personal security officers that are also in and around the streets that supports the general security that's taking place in coordination with the Israeli national police.

Not convinced, the CNN host followed up:

    So you're saying that Israeli citizens not only in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, all over the country should start packing weapons right now, walking around with pistols?

After Rosenfeld that Israeli gun owners have been trained in their use and they are valuable in providing security, Bliltzer still persisted as he wrapped up the interview:

    Well, one final question, Micky, before I let you go. Aren't you concerned, though, it's one thing for police and military to walk around with weapons, but it's another thing for civilians simply to be walking around with weapons. Some of them may be trained, some of them no so well-trained, Aren't you concerned that they might simply shoot before they really know for sure there's a danger?

Below is a transcript of relevant portions of the Wednesday, October 14, The Situation Room on CNN:

    5:09 p.m.
    WOLF BLITZER: Israel clearly stepping up security, but the unpredictable and seemingly unorganized wave of violence poses a new kind of challenge. Joining us now is the Israeli police spokesman, Micky Rosenfeld. Micky, thanks for joining us. The violence seems to be getting worse by the day. Roadblocks are being established in some Arab neighborhoods, but is shutting down the neighborhoods and bringing in more Israeli troops the answer here?

    (MICKY ROSENFELD, ISRAELI POLICE SPOKESMAN)

    Yeah, I was going to say, Micky, I understand the need for security, but the Palestinians say, their point is that these security measures that Israel is imposing, they say, makes the situation, a bad situation even worse. And they also then say, with all this Israeli presence, all of these blockades and whatever, they have a right to defend themselves. To which you say?

    (Rosenfeld does not hear the later part of the question, so Blitzer has to repeat it.)

    The point is, the Palestinians say what you're doing, which is perhaps understandable, but what you're doing is making a bad situation even worse by shutting off neighborhoods, putting police officers all over the place, bringing in the military, that's only further exacerbating a very, very tense situation.

    (ROSENFELD)

    The Israeli Public Service Minister approved steps today that would make it easier, we're told, for civilians, for Israeli civilians to obtain gun permits. Do you think Israeli citizens should be defending the streets with more guns on their sides, armed?

    MICKY ROSENFELD, ISRAELI POLICE SPOKESMAN: Absolutely, there's no problem with that issue whatsoever. The more Israelis that are walking around with pistols, that is important that the members of the public can also respond and react. Let's not forget that just over a week ago, a Palestinian 18-year-old woman stabbed an Israeli man in the back of his neck in the Old City. He pulled out his weapon and he responded and he shot that Palestinian woman who was, in fact, taken to a hospital in serious condition. So it is effective.

    Every Israeli walking around with a pistol has gone through three years of IDF training, and, therefore, there's no problem whatsoever, on the part of individuals that are walking around and personal security officers that are also in and around the streets that supports the general security that's taking place in coordination with the Israeli national police.

    BLITZER: So you're saying that Israeli citizens not only in Jerusalem, in Tel Aviv, all over the country should start packing weapons right now, walking around with pistols?

    (Rosenfeld reiterates the value of having well-trained, armed Israelis carrying guns who can assist in security.)

    BLITZER: Well, one final question, Micky, before I let you go. Aren't you concerned, though, it's one thing for police and military to walk around with weapons, but it's another thing for civilians simply to be walking around with weapons. Some of them may be trained, some of them not so well-trained, Aren't you concerned that they might simply shoot before they really know for sure there's a danger?

    ROSENFELD: There are very strict firing orders when one is allowed to open fire both for the Israeli police as well as for citizens. One is only allowed to open fire when you are in a life-threatening situation, but unfortunately what we've seen over the last 10 day is sporadic attacks that have taken place in many cities around the country, and therefore, in this moment in time, we have to make sure that heightened security continues, that people that are walking around with their own personal weapons and lots of Israeli police and border police and undercover units that are working in different areas is essential. The rapid response of our police officers has prevented Israelis from being injured or even killed, and this will continue as long as necessary until the situation calms down.

Source URL: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/nb/brad-wilmouth/2015/10/14/cnns-blitzer-frets-israelis-carrying-guns-defend-palestinian

[EC]

WASHINGTON -- Israel has a right to defend itself and the United States has not determined its law enforcement has used "excessive force" against Palestinians amid the recent wave of violence sweeping the country, State Department spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday.

Kirby's comments came one day after he said the State Department had seen credible reports of the use of such force.

"We have never accused Israeli security forces with excessive force with respect to these terrorist attacks," Kirby said, reiterating Washington's longstanding position on Israel's right to self-defense.

The spokesman also said the US does not believe Israeli policy on the Temple Mount (Haram al-Sharif) has changed and welcomes Israel's continuation of the status quo. The Palestinian Authority continues to question Israel's designs on the holy site, where non-Muslims are not currently allowed to formally pray.

Earlier in the day at Indiana University, US Secretary of State John Kerry said he condemned the violence, which has claimed the lives of 8 Israelis, over 30 Palestinians and wounded over 80 others over the last 15 days.

"It is important that we all remain deeply concerned about this recent violence," Kerry said. "We strongly condemn the terrorist attacks against innocent civilians and there is absolutely no justification for these reprehensible attacks. We will continue to support Israel's right to defend its existence."

"It is critically important though that calm be restored as soon as possible, and we the administration will continue to stress the importance, politically and privately, of preventing inflammatory rhetoric, accusations or actions that could lead to violence," he added.

Also on Thursday at a press conference in Jerusalem, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directly criticized comments Kerry made earlier in the week. At an event at Harvard University, the top US diplomat said that Palestinian frustration over a "massive increase in settlements" had preceded the violence, suggesting to some he was rationalizing the attacks.

The frustration, Netanyahu said, is rooted in a fundamental Palestinian rejection of a Jewish presence in historic Palestine. "They don't want us here," he said.

Read more: http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/US-walks-back-criticism-of-Israel-security-response-to-terror-wave-426119

[flowers]

http://www.foxnews.com/world/2015/10/18/several-israelis-hurt-after-shooting-attack-on-bus-station/?intcmp=hpbt4

DEVELOPING -- Two terrorists entered an Israeli bus station on Sunday armed with guns and knives, killing one and wounding several others before the attack was stopped, police told the Jerusalem Post.

Israeli police said one attacker shot people and a second used a knife to stab people inside the bus station in Beersheba in southern Israel. One terrorist is dead and the other has been apprehended, police told the Post.

The number of injured is currently in dispute. Eli Bin, the head of Israel's rescue service MDA, told Israeli Channel 2 TV that five people were wounded in the incident. The Post reported that six were wounded, two seriously, in addition to the one dead.

[mountaineer]

Israel: Assailant opens fire on bus station, soldier killed
The Associated Press
 TIA GOLDENBERG
 Oct 18th 2015 3:47PM

JERUSALEM (AP) -- An Arab attacker armed with a gun and a knife opened fire in a southern Israel bus station on Sunday, police said, killing an Israeli soldier and wounding 10 people in one of the boldest attacks yet in a monthlong wave of violence.

The attack came as Israel further tightened security around the country, highlighted by the construction of a barrier separating Jewish and Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem. In a bid to halt the fighting, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said he would meet the Israeli and Palestinian leaders in the coming days.

Israel has deployed thousands of police, backed up by troops, to maintain order following a spate of attacks, mostly stabbings, by Palestinian assailants. Those measures have so far failed to stop the violence.

In Sunday night's attack, police said the Arab assailant entered the central bus station in the southern city of Beersheba and began shooting and stabbing people. They said an Israeli soldier was killed, five police were lightly wounded and five civilians were wounded to varying degrees.

Yoram Halevy, a police commander in southern Israel, told reporters that in addition to the knife and gun he entered with, the attacker also snatched a weapon from the soldier he killed.

The attacker, whose identity was not immediately known, was shot and killed.

A foreigner was shot by police during the attack after they apparently mistook him for an assailant. Halevy said security forces responding to the attack entered the bus station from another area and saw a "foreign national," shooting and wounding him.

Israeli media said the foreigner was an Eritrean national living in Israel.

Israeli media showed footage of a blood-streaked floor and rows of ambulances outside the bus station. Security camera footage from the bus station aired on Israeli TV showed what appeared to be a civilian shooting the attacker as soldiers and civilians crouched for cover nearby.

The attack was one of the most serious incidents amid near-daily bouts of violence that has hit Israel and the Palestinian territories over the past month. After the attack, a crowd of Israelis gathered outside the bus station and chanted "death to Arabs."

The unrest erupted in Jerusalem a month ago over tensions surrounding a Jerusalem holy site sacred to Jews and Muslims. It soon spread to Arab neighborhoods of east Jerusalem and then to the West Bank, Gaza and Israel. ...

More at AOL